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Friday, June 24, 2016

Interview with Bryan Davis

For those of you who are unfamiliar with our blog, we try to
schedule regular author interviews to publish on Fridays. Bryan Davis has
written more than twenty fantasy books for adult and young adult readers, in
addition to several other non-fiction works. He has kindly agreed to take
the time to answer some questions about himself and his writing.

What is something you would like your readers to know about
you?

I am the father of seven children, who are all now adults. I
was a computer professional for 20 years before becoming a full-time writer for
the past 14 years.

What prompted you to start writing?

About 22 years ago, I decided to write a story with my children
as a way to get them excited about writing. I would write a chapter and ask
them to give me ideas for the next chapter. The story became their story as
well as mine, and their passion for creativity grew. The process worked quite
well. In fact, one of my daughters is a traditionally published, award-winning
author.

The process worked so well that it infused a passion in me
to write. Since the story had such a profound effect on my children, maybe my
stories could make an impact on the world. That thought propelled me to begin a
writing career.

Why did you choose to write fantasy?

I had a dream one night about a boy who could breathe fire.
My eldest son and I took that idea and expanded it into the premise for the
story that became Raising Dragons.

Experience has shown me that fantasy is able to reach to the
heart with more depth and lasting influence than other genres. That fact gave
me reason to continue writing fantasy.

What advice would you share with an aspiring writer?

Have patience. Many new writers want to get to the “good
stuff” too quickly, that is, without developing characters and the story world.
Also, they are sometimes unwilling to do the hard work to learn the craft. Even
after 22 years of writing, I am still learning. I believe my writing is much
better now than it was in my earlier books.

Also, I recommend learning skills from writers you like. If
you are interested in my tips, I suggest that you read the tips on my writing
blog – www.theauthorschair.com.

You are currently a prolific writer with over 25 books
published across several genres. Which book or series of books has been your
favorite so far?

“Favorite” is a difficult measure. All of my books have
unique qualities that stand out. Yet, the books that hold special places in my
heart are those that readers most often select as the ones that helped them
through difficult times or drew them closer to God. That series would be
Oracles of Fire, especially book #1, Eye of the Oracle, and book #4, The Bones
of Makaidos.

Many of your books feature strong Christian themes, and
emphasize important virtues such as chivalry, faith, and sacrifice. How does your
personal faith drive your writing?

My faith isn’t sequestered in a compartment. It infuses
every aspect of my life. So having heroic characters who show important
qualities of faith is natural to me. These are the attributes I want in myself
and my children, so providing examples makes sense.

In many of your fantasy series, you focus on a very large
and ever-expanding cast of characters, and you often use several point-of-view
characters for one story. Why did you choose to do this? Are there any special
difficulties associated with this approach?

Since the Dragons in our Midst story world expanded to 12
novels, the experiences of the original characters naturally expanded with it.
They visited new places and met new people. With so many characters, I often
had to show the point-of-view (POV) of someone other than the main character in
order to provide background or show what was going on behind the main story
arc, because one of the main characters wasn’t there to see the back story.

This method can be difficult, because the writer always
needs to show the relevance of the back-story POV scenes, that is, how does
this action relate to the main story? How will the other story arcs merge with
the main one? Keeping all of this in mind and executing it effectively can be
quite difficult.

Your newest series is the Reapers trilogy. What was your
inspiration for it?

The dystopian genre has enjoyed a lot of popularity lately –
The Hunger Games, Divergent, and others. The ones I read were dissatisfying, because
they seemed hopeless, darkness with little to no light at the end.

I like the dark and gritty nature of the genre, but I want
hope and more than a glimmer of light. My response to that need is the ongoing
Reapers Trilogy. It is dark, but it provides light as the heroic characters
strive to help those shrouded in darkness.

And finally, no visit to Lands Uncharted is complete without
Top 3s! Please give us a Top 3 list in the category of your choice.

Top 3 themes, morals, or messages

#1 – Selfless sacrifice

#2 – Forgiveness (Mercy)

#3 – Choosing integrity, virtue, honor, etc, over personal
gain

If you would like to learn more about Bryan Davis, there are
several resources.

- Follow him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/BryanDavis.Fans- He can be found here on Twitter: @BryanDavisAuth- All of his books can be purchased here.This is a list of his fantasy series:

Dragons in our Midst series

Raising Dragons

The Candlestone

Circles of Seven

Tears of a Dragon

Oracles of Fire series

Eye of the Oracle

Enoch's Ghost

The Last of the Nephilim

The Bones of Makaidos

Children of the Bard series

Song of the Ovulum

From the Mouth of Elijah

The Seventh Door

Omega Dragon

Dragons of Starlight series

Starlighter

Warrior

Diviner

Liberator

Tales of Starlight series

Masters and Slayers

The Third Starlighter

Exodus Rising

Echoes from the Edge series

Beyond the Reflection's Edge

Eternity's Edge

Nightmare's Edge

Reapers Trilogy

Reapers

Beyond the Gateway

It has been such a blessing to have Mr. Davis on our blog! Strong Christian authors who consistently produce quality YA fantasy are rare, and we greatly appreciate them here on Lands Uncharted. Thanks so much for reading!~ Hannah

5 comments:

Thanks so much for visiting Lands Uncharted, Bryan! I love the way you collaborated with your children when you first started writing, I'm sure their involvement in that creative process was very meaningful for them (and you!). Hannah has had wonderful things to say about your books, which are now on my to-be-read list :)